Page 24 - ELG2207 Jul Issue 481

TEACHERS’ TIPS .

Five points to keep in

mind when teaching

English online

Educator Simon Dunton shares the top tips he’s

gleaned from 15 years of teaching

ince the spring of 2020, more ESOL may hear some typing and clicking. This is a
teachers than ever have experienced good time to comment on what you are doing:
online teaching. In some cases, this • “I’m now putting you in breakout rooms.
Shas been a temporary measure, but There will be four rooms, with three learners
in others it has opened new opportunities in each room.”
for both teachers and learners, meaning the • “I’m putting the link in the chat box. Can
communicative language classroom has never you all see it?”
been so accessible to so many people. • “I’m about to share my screen. Can you all
Working with tutors, trainers and see the picture?”
moderators across the globe, the five areas
below have been highlighted as key to If it is structured, clear and well thought
successful online classes. through, this ‘deliberate commentary’ can be
valuable as it helps learners understand what
1. Set up the right screen view is happening in the class when you transition
Get to know your video-conferencing between and through activities.
software well, experimenting with the view
features so that you and your learners feel part 3. Take your time
of a class, helping to build rapport and create Everything can take a little longer in the For example, checking several gist
a comfortable learning atmosphere. online classroom, so remember this when questions after a listening task is not a
Open-class discussion is best conducted in planning and conducting activities. good use of breakout rooms or the learners’
‘gallery view’, as you will be able to see more In a face-to-face class, grouping learners time. Instead, consider asking learners
than one learner at a time, noting who looks takes seconds, but organising the breakout to type short answers into the chat box
like they want to speak or who disagrees with rooms can take a little longer, especially when before asking for further ideas in open-class
what has been said. Encourage your learners first using them. This is normal and learners discussion.
to use the same view, so they can interact should expect this.
with one another, nominating who will If you have asked learners to use a new 5. Keep it simple
answer the next question, etc. This mimics site, tool or function, give them some extra There are a huge number of blog posts,
the whole-class view everyone would have in time to orientate themselves and learn webinars and video tutorials on using
a face-to-face class. how to use it before they online resources in the online
Of course, this means getting learners to start the task you When asking classroom. So many, in
keep their cameras on whenever possible. Talk have set them. fact, that it can be a
with them about why this is important and When asking questions in open-class little overwhelming
how they would feel if you had your camera questions in for both learners and
off during the class. open-class discussion, leave some teachers.
discussion, leave Remember that a
2. Think about your teacher talking some extra thinking extra thinking time good language lesson –
time (TTT) time for learners to whether online or face to
Many of us will be familiar with the concept consider their responses face – doesn’t need to involve
of TTT – the time we as teachers spend before nominating someone to answer. lots of resources. Some of the best learning
talking in the class. In the communicative This allows for any delays in connection, moments can come from exploring and/
face-to-face language classroom, we usually as well as giving weaker learners more time or upgrading the emergent language (the
try to keep it quite low as this is the learners’ to understand the question and compose language used by the learners), which can
time to talk, not ours. their response. be done with an online whiteboard or a
However, many teachers have noted that shared document.
their TTT is higher when teaching online and 4. Avoid breakout-room fatigue If you do want to integrate online resources
this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it’s the right While breakout rooms can be great for group (videos, quizzes, online exercises, etc),
kind of TTT. discussions and collaborative work, it’s easy remember to check them carefully to make
In a face-to-face class, learners would see to overuse them, which leads to breakout- sure they are suitable and easy to use. Also,
you giving out handouts, grouping them, room fatigue. When you plan your lessons, remember to give your learners time to figure
writing on the board, etc. In the online think carefully about when they are best out how to use any new tools and discover how
classroom, they will see your face, and they used and why. different functions work.
24 July 2022